Dictionary

spae-craft en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Scots spaebor. English spae Proto-Germanic *krafjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *kraftuz Proto-West Germanic *kraftu Old English cræft Old English -cræft Middle English -craft English -craft English spae-craft From spae + -craft.

Meanings

1. (Germanic, uncountable) The magical art of foretelling the future, used especially in Heathenry.
   • I have the privilege of having a very wise and kind idis, Ealgitha, who teaches me spaecraft and other things. 1997, Elmindreda Pukwdugie, Winifred Hodge, Lina (Heathen Journal), volume 3, number 1:
   • The greatest tools of spae-craft seem to have been the staff and the hooded cloak. 1994, Kveldúlf Hagan Gundarsson, Teutonic Magic: The Magical & Spiritual Practices of the Germanic Peoples, Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 216:
   • Twelfth Night is particularly a time fo fore-tellings; if there is a skilled rune-reader or someone with spae-craft in the group, this is when they should cast or speak for the year ahead. 1993, Our Troth: History and Lore, →ISBN, page 570:

Forms